


teach me?

by therefore98



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: Conservatory AU, F/M, Hadestown AU, One-Shot, hadestown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25537306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therefore98/pseuds/therefore98
Summary: hadestown AU in which orpheus is a conservatory student and eurydice works in the city.background: I know from personal experience that anyone can learn a simple waltz. I, and I can’t stress this enough, am not a dancer, but when we were doing peer teachings in my music ed class, someone taught my group the waltz. It involves partners performing the same sequence of steps, but in opposite directions.this one-shot occurs a bit later in the timeline. eurydice has stopped avoiding orpheus. he’s brought her to his conservatory’s studio and had a chance to see her dance. they’ve gotten to know each other rather well, but nothing has transpired between them except tension you could cut with a knife. orpheus has a penchant for going off to explore to city, often to find inspiration for his music. finally, after he has asked her many times, eurydice caves and decides to accompany him. as they’re walking through the park, inspiration strikes…
Relationships: Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	teach me?

**Author's Note:**

> Hadestowntextposts/funkyliloboist here! I posted this on tumblr about 6 months ago, and just got around to making an Ao3 account, so I figured I might as well post it here. Here's the note from when I originally posted it... 
> 
> author’s note: first fic… ever? i used to write a lot in middle school, but it was all within the context of a class. that being said, it’s been a while since i’ve written anything but poetry or essays. i hadn’t planned on writing anything for the conservatory au, but I got a request for a fic about eurydice teaching orpheus to dance, so i tried. please be gentle :)

suddenly, orpheus’ eyes light up. he turns on his heel and lifts his hands as if looking through a viewfinder. 

“what…” eurydice starts, before deciding to just let it happen. after a moment, he’s standing underneath one of the streetlamps, smiling coyly for a moment before taking a bow. 

“it’s a spotlight,” she offers, forcing an incredulous look to conceal the smile that would betray her amusement. he extends his arm in a gesture that invites her to join him there in his pocket of light within the darkness. how fitting, she thinks, before shaking her head instinctually as if to disperse the thoughts from her mind. 

“come on… i haven’t seen all of the dance you’re working on yet. is it finished?”

“is your song finished?” eurydice quips, really smiling this time. at any rate, she does enjoy messing with him. orpheus frowns, an exaggerated one, and she moves closer, half of her face now illuminated by the beam of light. 

“fine, teach me then.”

“what?”

“teach me how to dance!” 

she can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of his request. she’s seen the way he moves around the apartment, tripping over things that aren’t there and running into anything that sticks out. she’d be surprised if he could manage even the simplest of steps. still, there’s something in his eyes that makes her want to say yes. 

“how much do you know about dance?” she asks as a formality. she knows the answer.

“absolutely nothing,” orpheus concedes. she sighs at this, crossing her arms. “so it’s a good thing i have the best teacher!” 

he looks at her expectantly, but she ignores him. she’s grown used to his way of always having something to say that should make her blush. it’s disgusting, really. 

she considers what the most straightforward thing she can teach him without being outright insulting might be, and her first instinct is the waltz. she almost recoils at the thought alone, but chides herself. it doesn’t have to mean anything if she doesn’t want it too. 

…

first, she demonstrates the box step pattern. “forward-side-together, backwards-side-together,” she repeats, watching him practice. good enough. she places his right hand on the small of her back and takes his other hand in her own. just the ballroom hold, she thinks, and to his credit, orpheus doesn’t seem to react. 

they start off slowly, and for a moment, eurydice thinks that he just might have a chance after all. his eyebrows are knitted together, and his mouth is turned up slightly on one end, a sure sign that he’s concentrating with all his will. 

then, she makes the mistake of picking up the pace. whatever rhythm he’s got going in his head skips a beat, and he runs straight into her. small as she is, the force of it knocks her off her feet. orpheus stares down, horrified, before coming to his senses and quickly offering his hand. eurydice lets him pull her to her feet, putting on a stern expression just to torture him for a moment before letting her laughter go. 

“you’re the worst,” she says, smiling as he finally relaxes. “we can try again.” they slowly get back to their rhythm, and she can hear him counting under his breath. as she gradually pushes the tempo, he holds on tighter. for some reason, she doesn’t pull away. 

…

“how do you do it?” orpheus suddenly asks, cutting through the silence.

“what?”

“dance the way you do?” 

eurydice considers this. “practice?” 

she knows he’s not satisfied with this answer, and she thinks a moment longer. “i think it’s like any art form. your emotions guide the movement. you tell a story.” 

eurydice thinks about all the times she’s overheard orpheus piecing together a melody, words flowing out of him like he has some sort of divine inspiration. it’s true: she listens a great deal more than she’ll ever let on. “maybe that’s how you write your music?”

“yes,” he agrees softly. “i do like to tell a story.”

“so what about the one you’re working on now?” eurydice looks up to see that his gaze holds a new intensity. it’s then that she realizes they’ve stopped moving. she tries not to look away.

“well… it’s…” 

“orpheus…” 

“it’s inspired by you”. she blinks, then studies him for a second. fuck it. grabbing his suspenders, she closes the distance between them.


End file.
